Released in 2001, the Game Boy Advance was Nintendo's first handheld game console in a landscape form-factor. It used a 32-bit ARM RISC processor with a Z80 for backward compatibility with existing Game Boy software titles.

Cutting the life of the Game Boy Color short, which was released only a couple of years before, the console was an immediate success, with the launch games showing a huge leap in visual and audio capabilities than its predecessors were capable of.

The screen was large, but unfortunately difficult to see in moderate light, and its shape did not lend itself to having external lights fitted. The console has become a favourite for collectors, who often fit a light behind the screen, as a preference to the Game Boy Advance SP, because it is larger and more comfortable to hold.

Huge third party support and Nintendo's own quality software kept the machine relevant in the market place up to the launch of the Nintendo DS in 2004.

Manufacturer: Nintendo
Date: 2001

This exhibit has a reference ID of CH40690. Please quote this reference ID in any communication with the Centre for Computing History.